Improvement in knitting-machines



2Sheets--Sheetl. M. CHR-ISTOFFERS.

Improvement in Knitting-Machines.

No. 129,529. Patentied July 16, I872.

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2 Sheets--Shee't M. CHRISTOFFERSQ Improvement in Knitting-Machines.

Patented July 16, 1872.

UNITEnSTATEs PATENT QFFICE.

MARTIN OHRISTOFFERS, OF -HANNOVER, PRUSSIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNlTTiNG-MACHINES.

Be it known that I, MARTIN Gnnrs'ron- FERS, of Hannover, in the Kingdom of Prussia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in KnittingMachines, of which the following is a description:

My-invention relates to the mechanism for forming and discharging the mesh, and for mesh; third, in combination with the above, a

slotted piece, operated by an eccentric and pitman for imparting an intermittent rotary motion, through a swinging pawl-frame, to a driving-wheehand operating the rest of the parts; and, fourthly, in the mechanism for varying the style of knitting, all as hereinafter described.

In the drawing, Figure l'is a sectional elevation of the machine in plane of line acm,Fig.

" 2. Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine. Fig. 3,

Sheet 2, is a sectional elevation in plane of line 3 y, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan of the end of the base-piece or table containing the work-. iug parts inverted. Fig. 5, Sheet 1, is a detail View of the rock-shaft Fig. 6, a detached elevation of the driving-spindle; Fig. 7, Sheet 1, detail views illustrating the construction of the needles; Fig. 8, Sheet 2, a detail view of the mechanism employed for varying the styles of knitting; Fig. 9, Sheet 1, a view of the recording apparatus detached, with the dial and pointer removed; Figs; 10 to 16, Sheet 2, inclusive, enlarged viewsillustratin g progressive steps'in the operation of forming the mesh.

The working parts are mounted upon a 1ongitudinal frame or bed-piece, A, provided with bearings B B and thumb-screw B, Fig. 3, by which the machine may be secured upon a table or in any convenient position. At one end of the bed-plate two bearing-posts, O O, are situated, supporting the horizontal shaft D, on which the combined band and fly wheel E is mounted and rotated by a crank, F. The motion thus acquired is transmitted by a band from the wheel E to a pulley, K, at the opposite end of the machine, situated upon a horizontal shaft, H, mounted between upright bear- Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 129,529, dated July 16, 1872.

in gs G G. For convenience in the adjustment of the parts, the compensation of wear, and reduction'of friction to the minimum degree, the shaft H is held in place on the points of two screw-bearings, J J, screwing through the posts G G, Fig. 3. With the pulley K is combined an eccentric, L, which, by the revolution of the shaft H, imparts a lateral motion through a pit'man, M, to the swinging piece N, (see Fig. 5,) which is pivoted under and to the side of the base-piece A by the pin 12, and is provided with two slots, 00 y, the first of which, ac, is slightly curved, with its arc toward the pivot 19, and receives a pin, h, projecting from the frame 0, to which latter an oscillating movement is imparted by the rise and fall of thepiece N. The frame 0 is hung upon a horizontal shaft, 41, and provided with a pawl, k operated by a spring, m, which, when the piece N descends and draws back the frame 0, causes the pawl 70 to seize or clasp a fresh one of the four teeth of the driving-wheel P, which is preferably square,'and push it forward with the advance of the frame -0 caused by the upward movement of the piece N, while a flat spring, d, secured to a cross-piece of the frame A and tending constantly to resist any projection of the corners of the wheel P upon its surface, (see Fig. 4, Sheet 2,) permits the one-quarter revolution of the driving-wheel P, to which an intermittent rotary motion is thus imparted, which is transmitted to its vertical spindle 1%, which, at the point of its projection above the basepiece A, is in the form of a prism, T, the corners of which are slightly prominent, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6, and 6 in cross-section, the better to retain the needles S, and by its revlution cause them to be brought in succession in position to be acted upon.

The needles are preferably stamped out of sheet metal and curved or bent into shape, and are formed witha step, 1, Fig. 7, that prevents the mesh from dropping too low, and a head, 2, which prevents the escape of the loop until raised and slipped over by the hook f, hereafter described. A longitudinal groove or channel, 8, dlc, above the shank, into which the point of the hook f enters in operation, to insure its passage under the loop to be raised and slipped oif. They also have loops or slots3 and tonguesis formed on the face of the nee- 1 4 formed on the shank, and are jointed orhooked together in the form of a chain by passing the bent tongues or hooks at of one needle through the corresponding loops3 of the next, when, the desired number (according to the character of the knitting to be done) having been connected, the two ends are joined, forming an endless chain, which is extended around and from the prism T to asimilar' prism, T, situated upon a slide, U, which latter is adjustable to suit the length of the needle-chain in a longitudinal slot, A of the bed-plate A by means of its chain W, any of the links of which can be hooked over a suitable pin or catch, X, rigidly attached to the bed-plate A. A coiled or other suitable spring, V, is interposed between the adjustable chain W and the slide U, to allow the chain of needles the required tension. On the end of the shaft H, opposite the pulley K, is situated the eccentric arm or box a in a recess, a, Fig. 12, Sheet 2, of which the catch or hook f is pivoted by a shaft. 0, whose extension c on one side is provided with a coiled spring, at, which constantly tends to keep the traveling pinion e in close contact with the camdisk g, which is situated upon the hearing G and is stationary, and of such curved outline that, as the follower or piniome revolves around its periphery, it is caused to impart to the hook or catch f the proper movement for forming the mesh.

In operation, when the revolution of the eccentric L causes the pitman M to depress the piece N, and consequently draw back theframe 0 until the pawl k clasps a fresh tooth of the driving-wheel P, and then, by the reverse movement, causes the pawl k in conjunction with the spring 6?, to turn the driving-wheel P onequarter round, as hereinbefore described, the prism T, being attached to the same spindle R, is correspondingly turned, bringinga fresh needle into position in front of the hook f, the elasticity of the spring V allowing the prism T to conform freely to this movement. The thread is fed into position between the needles S and the arm carrying the hook f by passing, after it leaves the spool supported on the bedpiece by the rod q, first through a tension device, 1', and then through a hole in the threadleader Y, which is attached by a sleeve to the shaft t under the bed-plate A, and then slightly to one side and near the head of the needle. At this juncture the revolution of the-shaftH has turned the carrier at around so as to bring the hook f to the lowest point, as shown in Fig. 10, at which position the traveling campinion e, impelled by the spring d, begins to follow the curved surface 12 of the stationary cam 9, allowing the arm 6 of the followerc to maintain nearly a horizontal position during a quarter of the revolution, thereby causing the hookfto project, as in Fig. 11, and, as it ascends, introduce its point into and along the channel 8 of the needle S, and'under the lower loop 9 of the mesh, when, the projection 3 of the cam g having been reached by the traveler e, the consequent change in position of the latter draws the hook f, still retaining the loop 9, inward a sufficient distance to allow it to pass over the upper loop 8 without disturbing the latter, after which a depression, 4, of the stationary cam 9, allows the traveling pinion e to turn so as to bring the hook f in a nearly-horizontal or inclined position over the top of the needle S, as seen in Figs. 13 and 14:, thus forming the mesh. After the mesh is thus formed it is necessary that it should be pressed down until the loop 8, which now corresponds in position to the previous loop 9, rests upon the step 1 of the needle S, which movementis eifected by the descent of the presser Z, projectin g from a vertical arm, Z, extending under the base-piece A, and having a pin, 2, which enters the slot y of the piece N, before described, by the descent of which the frame 0 and the pawl k are drawn backward simultaneously with the depression of the presser Z Z Upon its ascent the frame 0 and pawl k are advanced, turning the driving-wheel P and prism T, so as to bring another needle in position simultaneously with the rise of thepresser Z, thus avoiding collision between the parts. During the occurrence of the movement just described the hook-bearer a has continued its revolution, and when the hook f is about at the highest point the arm 6 of the traveling pinion 0 comes in contact with the projection 5 of the stationarycam g, and causes its arm a to enter the depression 6, and then pass up the incline 7, thus effecting a half revolution of the follower 6 upon its axis, and consequently turning the hook f forward into its slot in the position occupied at the commencement of the description, when the same operation is again repeated with each needle in succession.

In knitting a stocking or other circular article it is desirable to know how many complete rounds the needles make, and whereit is necessary to commence diminishing the number of meshes, 850. For this purpose a counter is employed, which is operated bya projection on the lower end of one of the needles, which, at every circuit, comes in contact with and presses forward a short distance a lever, b, pivoted at c, by which means its pawl 12 is made to shove the ratchet-wheel 1) forward one or more teeth, in which position it is held by the stationary pawl I), as shown in Fig. 9.

When it is desired to knit plain goods-- that is, not circular but irregular, as, for instance, in knitting the heel of astockingfithe operating parts are arranged so as to move the chain of needles alternately from right to left, and vice versa, as follows: Supposing the needles are moving from the prism T at the left to the right, as shown by the arrows, Fig. 2, it the direction of the endless chain of needles is to be changed, the motion of the driving wheel P, and consequently of the prism T, must be reversed, which is effected by disengaging the pawl k, by sliding the frame 0 on the shaft 1', so as to bring the pawl k on the opposite side into engagement with the teeth of the driving-wheel P, by which means the reciprocal movement imparted by the eccentric L through the pitman M and piece N to the frame 0 is employed to turn the drivingwheel P, and hence the prism T and needleohain S, in a direction from right to left-the reverse of the movement before mentioned.

In knitting to the left it is also necessary to place the thread-guide Y on that side of the needle being operated upon, which is done by drawing it slightly back by the handle or ring 3 to allow its upper end to pass the needle, and sliding it by means of the rod 3 projecting outside the base-piece upon the shaft 03, which it clasps by a sleeve, 11 until the desired position is attained, when it may be held by a spring. The parts being thus arranged, the knittingprogresses, as before described, during a complete circuit of the needle-chain, when the parts are changed to their former position to knit to the right for a circuit, and so on to the completion of the work. These changes, it will be noticed, are quickly effected by means of rods and handles, and does not materially delay the operation of the machine.

By reference to Figs. 10 to 16 it will readily be seen that if the depression 2 of the stationary cam g was omitted the traveling pinion 0 would not cause the hook f to protrude and seize the loop 9, and the mesh would not be formed.

In the so-called varied knitting, which consists in alternately knitting off and skipping in succession one, two, or more needles, according to the design, and on the next circuit knitting off the needles previously skipped, and skipping the intermediate ones previously knitted off, I employa die or segment, j, shown in place in Fig. 1, which coincides-with and fits into the depression 2, practically making the concentric portion of the cam-periphery continous at this point, and thereby allowing the'traveling pinion e to pass over without changing its position on its axis, and consequently the hook c to pass by the needle without raising and slipping off the loop 9. This segment j is mounted on the long arm of a lever, j, pivoted to the bed-piece at t, (Fig. 3,) and having a spring, y, resting against its lower arm, which tends to throw and hold the segment j out of the depression 2 of the cam g. By drawing out the rod to, which slides in the guide u the supplementary arm or lever w, which is pivoted at one end to the rod at u and atthe opposite rests against the spindle T or any suitable stop, is also drawn forward until its projection 10 strikesthe lower end of the lever j, forcing it back against the resistance of the spring "y, thus forcing the segment 7' into the depression 2 of the cam g, in which position it may be held by a spring, when, as before stated, the traveler 0 will pass over without causing the hook f to form the mesh. Varied knitting may thus be produced by alternately drawing out the rod to during the desired number of revolutions and by letting it return.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The hookf, pivoted in a recess of the revolving arm a and operated by the traveling pinion 0, its shaft 0, and cam g, in the manner and for the purpose described.

2. The ratchet-frame 0, provided with the ratchets k 70 operated by the slotted piece N, in combination with, and for the purpose of imparting an intermittent rotary motion to, the driving-Wheel P, its spindle R, and prism T, which operate the needles, as herein described.

3. The piece N, operated by the eccentricL and pitman M, and provided with the slots 00 y for the purpose of operating, and in combination with the ratchet-frame O and presser Z Z, in the manner and for the purpose described.

4. The needles S, formed with the channel 8, step 1, and head 2, for the purpose described, and provided with loops or slots 3 and tongues 4,-for the purpose of connecting them together, as described.

5. The combination and arrangement of the slide U, with its revolving prism T, the spring V, chain W, and catch X, with the chainpf needles S and driving device P R T, operating as and for the purpose described.

6. The combination and arrangement of the eccentric L, pitman M, slotted piece N, and frame 0, provided with the pawls k W, with and for the purpose of imparting an intermittent rotary motion to the driving-wheel P by the revolution of the shaft H, as herein described.

7. The combination and arrangement of the eccentric L, pitman M, and slotted piece N with and for the purpose of operating the presser Z Z, as herein described.

8. The combination of the thread-guide Y, having the handle 3 and supported by the shaft t, upon which it is free to turn and slide laterally, with the tension device 1" and chain of needles S, as and for the purpose herein described.

9. The combination, with the stationary cam g, of the segment j, for the purpose of closing or filling the depression 2 of said cam, for the object and in the manner herein described.

10. The arrangement and combination of the rod or slide a a and lever to to with the lever j supporting the segment j at one end, and resting against a spring, 31 at the other, the whole acting in conjunction to operate and control the segment j with relation to the depression 2 of the stationary cam g, as and for the purpose described.

MARTIN OHEISTOFFERS.

Witnesses:

B. GOTTHEIL, J AMES FURSTENBERG. 

